Ravel, Unravel
by TaikoHawk
Summary: Sequel to 'Perchance to Dream'. 5 flashfics bridging the events that take place between PtD and its true sequel 'Shades'. Involving messages, spies, and the fall of a village.
1. One

_TH: Hello! So I know I said there would be a sequel for my Itachi time-travel fic "Perchance to Dream"_, _but I guess what I really meant was, there would be sequel**S**, plural. I found that I was changing some things really dramatically in the real sequel, so I decided to make this fic as a bridge between the two, to maybe decrease some confusion. So this isn't the _real_ sequel. Think of this as a **bonus**... something to tide you over until I can start posting the real sequel, which I think will be called "Shades"._

_This will be 5 chapters long, and each chapter will be drabble-length. I'll post them in very quick succession, maybe every day, or every two days. Once this is over, I'm afraid it will be back to waiting for you guys... sorry. I'm trying to have a very definitive plot established before I start posting "Shades".  
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**Ravel, Unravel

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**.I.

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Kaname Junmai was a desk ninja, having never advanced further than a by-the-skin-of-his-teeth Chuunin promotion. That was okay, though. He never particularly felt a burning desire to go off and die for his Village. That's not to say he didn't love Konoha, because he did. He just didn't much want to die of anything except old age. Was that wrong? He had a girlfriend, was planning on asking her to marry him, and wanted his future to hold a few children and grandchildren. He couldn't have that if he went off on dangerous missions all the time, and got himself killed before he reached thirty. So Junmai was perfectly content with his desk job, thank you very much.

Okay, so sometimes he wished he could lay claim to being some heroic, powerful shinobi with thrilling tales of how he'd managed to complete this harrowing mission, or that glorious battle… But he could do without. Really.

You know, ninja in the Intelligence Department were privy to the intimate secrets of the Village! They were the ones who received, decoded, deciphered, analyzed, and filed the information Konoha received from its spies, its ninja, its allies, and its prisoners. Intel ninja had information Konoha's enemies would kill for, and that was why they often didn't leave the Village. Intel ninja were just as worthy of awe and admiration as those daredevil ANBU ninja!

Kaname Junmai felt very strongly about his profession. It was a position of pride, intelligence, dignity. And so he carried himself in an appropriate manner.

…Maybe some of his colleagues call him pretentious, but that's just because they were too immature or stupid to really grasp the gravity of their role. Information was the blood that kept Konoha alive, and that made the Intelligence Department the heart. They were the heart of Konoha!

Junmai kept his chin high as he walked into the Department and went to his desk, ignoring the few eye-rolls that followed him. Pedestrians.

One of the runners, a younger Department member, scurried over to give Junmai a message that needed to be 'worked' as they called it. Junmai nodded gravely to the young woman and took the small scroll. As she hurried away, Junmai inspected the outside of the scroll. It was a message from one of their spies, and urgent, Junmai could see from the markings on the outside. Well, then, he'd better get to work.

It was sealed with a chakra lock; he opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a key, which he activated with a drop of his own blood. Only the blood of those who had been included in the key seal could activate it, and only an activated key would open the chakra lock. This decreased the possibility of the message falling into the wrong hands. Of course, even if an enemy managed to open the scroll there was no guarantee that they'd be able to read the contents. All messages like this one were written in code. Junmai had memorized all the ciphers, so he scanned the opened scroll, writing down the message as he translated it on a new piece of paper. It was only when he was finished that he looked at what he'd written in its entirety. He blanched.

"Uchiha Madara killed by Ame _nukenin _called Pein."

What? But everyone knew that Madara had been killed by Uchiha Itachi, three years earlier, during the attempted Uchiha Coup. There had even been a body, though that had been cremated almost immediately, for safety. No one wanted a puppet Madara running around, nor did they want someone to steal his eyes and their _doujutsu._ But it seemed that, somehow, Uchiha Madara wasn't as dead as they thought he was.

"Avegorrilejs furkagay!" Junmai squawked, shooting to his feet, wild with shock and maybe just a little fear. His colleagues closest to him looked up in confusion, clearly not understanding his garbled words.

Junmai scrambled for one of their desks, waving the scroll at the man behind it. He tried again: "I've gotta message for the Hokage! Someone double check it, quick!"

The other Intelligence Department worker quirked an eyebrow at Junmai's wild reaction, but took the scroll and deciphered the message again himself. He blinked, looked up at Junmai, and then back down at the message, disbelieving.

"It… it says: 'Uchiha Madara killed by Ame _nukenin _called Pein.'"

* * *

The ninja in the Intelligence Department were sworn to secrecy, under pain of death, because they _were _privy to the Village's secrets. The information they handled daily could be extremely harmful to Konoha if it were leaked, so they were not allowed to discuss it, at least not outside the Department. Within the Department's sound-proofed walls, they could talk about the messages, because it was sometimes helpful to have a colleague double-check a worked message for accuracy in decoding, or to have more than one brain working on analyzing the significance and application of a bit of information. But this didn't happen very often; there were special teams for working on sensitive information like the things the Torture & Interrogation Force drew from their prisoners, and the general messages that the Department got from spies and allies were either not exciting, or so vague only the Hokage (or at least someone closer to the situation) would understand their meaning.

This Madara message, however, was causing quite a bit of discussion in the Department. Despite the fact that there had never been an official announcement about it, everyone in Konoha knew that Uchiha Itachi had killed Uchiha Madara. Because of the odd situation, Madara was already supposed to be dead, after all, the news that Itachi had fought and killed him had spread like wildfire around the Village. And now the Intelligence Department was getting messages about Madara being alive _again_? Was the man immortal? This was the second time he was supposed to be dead. _Of course_ the Department workers were worried.

But no, giving the message to the Hokage only prompted a vague 'hmm' and a message to the Department telling them it was nothing to worry over. As if. There were many incredulous expressions traded over that. But then, a few minutes later, one of the runners returned to the Department and divulged the information that he had just seen Uchiha Itachi report to the Hokage's office. Ah, now. This told the curious Department ninja what they wanted to know, what the Hokage's response hadn't told them. The message about Madara _was _important, _did_ mean something. The Hokage just wanted to keep it on the down-low.

…Wait, but what did _that_ mean? That the Hokage didn't want the information to cause panic because it meant really bad things were going to happen, or that the information didn't mean anything and he didn't want them worrying unnecessarily? Oh, man…


	2. Two

_TH: Next drabble. I love these two characters! Please read and review. And if you see any spelling errors or anything, please point them out.  
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**Ravel, Unravel

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**.II.

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"Kakashi-senpai," Itachi said, causing the older shinobi to turn with an inquiringly quirked eyebrow. The Uchiha met Kakashi's one visible eye and asked politely: "Could I have a moment of your time?"

"Sure," Kakashi replied, eye creasing with an amiable smile. He stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched. "What's up?"

Having worked with Kakashi for the last three years, Itachi knew that this blasé behavior was a façade that Kakashi put up when he was wary and trying to act unremarkable and oblivious. Something in Itachi's voice or expression must have given away the solemnity of his request. Itachi gave his senpai a small, wry look. "Perhaps somewhere less crowded would be better."

Kakashi shrugged. "Lead the way, Itachi-san."

Itachi led them to the apartment he shared with his mother and brother, and into the small sitting room that was adjoined to the kitchen. Itachi's mother and brother were out for the day, Mikoto being a teacher at the Academy and Sasuke a student. The apartment was quiet, and empty of anyone who would overhear their discussion. They sat facing each other, and for a while didn't speak. Itachi traced the lines of the tatami mats on the floor with his eyes, a distant look in them, a crease in his brow. Kakashi gazed laconically about the room, patiently waiting until…

"Senpai, can I ask you a favor?"

Kakashi lazily rolled his eye to Itachi, and let the look speak for him.

"You probably already know that I have been tutoring my brother, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto in ninjutsu and taijutsu…" He should; it wasn't exactly a secret, even though Itachi didn't hold any official teaching position. Kakashi nodded once. "I won't be able to continue those lessons. Hokage-sama has sent me on a long-term mission outside of the Village."

Kakashi shifted fully to face Itachi, what little could be seen of his face twisting into an incredulous expression. "And, what? You want me to fill in for you? Tutor them?"

"Not quite," Itachi replied. He paused. "My brother is ten; in a couple years he and his friends will be graduating the Academy. The favor I wish to ask of you is for you to become their Genin Team leader."

For a moment, it seemed that Kakashi was struck dumb. His grey eye was wide and stared unblinkingly at the Uchiha prodigy. "You… want me to… be their Jounin instructor?"

"Yes."

"That's quite a favor. You can't even be sure they'll be on the same Team. The way the Teams are picked… after your tutoring them, I'm sure their positions in the class rankings won't be such that they'll be placed on the same Team. Unless you bias the… ah." And here Kakashi's visible eye narrowed shrewdly. "You've persuaded the Hokage to keep the three of them together, haven't you?"

Itachi blinked placidly, which was all the response Kakashi needed. He shook his head. "On top of that, I'm an ANBU captain. They don't give Genin Teams to ANBU. Not to mention I'd make a terrible teacher."

"You may not be as bad as you think," Itachi told him, which stopped Kakashi short. The last Hatake gave Itachi a sharp look.

Kakashi was one of the four people in Konoha that knew that the Uchiha Itachi that lived in the fourteen-year-old's body was in fact an older version of Itachi that had traveled back in time from a point years in the future. This older Itachi, in his younger-self's body, had divulged some astonishing information as to the potential events that could occur in the future. The current peace Konoha was enjoying was in part thanks to the Uchiha's efforts to avoid the dismal future that had awaited the Village, and thanks to his information, they were also forewarned against looming disasters.

Knowing the younger shinobi's situation made Kakashi very wary of the tone of Itachi's voice just then.

"You have got to be kidding me," Kakashi said flatly.

"I believe I know what you are thinking, and yes, it's true," Itachi said. He sounded almost amused. "You were their sensei in the other-past. You quit the ANBU before they graduated, and then the Hokage gave them to you as Team Seven. As a teacher, you weren't so bad. Even though circumstances conspired against you and your Team."

Kakashi sighed. "Even if I didn't fail at being a Jounin instructor in your 'other-past' as you call it, that doesn't mean I won't fail this time around. You admitted yourself that your actions here have changed things. Maybe this is one of them."

"I have faith in you," Itachi replied simply. Kakashi sighed again.

"I expect you told the Hokage about the possibility of my taking them on?" he asked in resignation.

"Yes."

Kakashi tipped his head back and considered the ceiling. "Why me?"

"They will need someone of your caliber to teach them."

"Oh?" Kakashi arched his visible eyebrow. "You're not getting ahead of yourself there, are you?"

"They may seem to be normal Academy students, although somewhat on the higher-end of the talent scale, but they learn very quickly, and have great determination and potential. They were taught by the Sannin, in the other-past. They need someone like you to challenge them, to keep them from stagnating," Itachi said.

"Hm," Kakashi said, sounding intrigued for the first time.

"As well… You and they are a good combination. You have the Sharingan yourself, so you could help Sasuke with it. You have copied several basic medical jutsu over the years, and so can help Sakura out in that regard. And Naruto… well, I think you know how much he could benefit from learning from someone who'd been taught by his father."

Kakashi glanced at Itachi and said mildly: "Careful what you say; that was close to breaking the Law."

Itachi returned the mild look. "There's no one here. And I believe he has a right to know, in any case."

"You may be right." Kakashi ran his thumb over the knuckles of one of his hands. "Alright. If the Hokage also thinks this is a good idea, then I suppose I will bow to the inevitable and become a sensei."

"Thank you, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi rose to his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. "You said that in the other-past they were taught by the Sannin. Does that mean one was taught by Orochimaru?"

"You know I can't answer that," Itachi replied quietly.

"Hm," Kakashi said again. "Just tell me if it will be a problem again this time around."

"It won't be," Itachi said firmly. Kakashi accepted that, turning to go. He took a couple steps toward the door before he paused and said over his shoulder:

"Good luck on your mission." The unasked question was obvious. _What is taking you away from the Village for so long?_

"Thank you," was Itachi's only reply. _I can't answer that, either._

Kakashi nodded once in understanding and then left the apartment, lifting one hand in farewell.


	3. Three

_TH: Next drabble. I am SO annoyed with 'Shades'. It's giving me grief and writers' block. Blegh.  
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**Ravel, Unravel

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**.III.

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There are spies and there are informants. The former implies a clandestine operation—infiltrating the target country or organization, posing as a citizen or someone who is supposed to be there, and gathering information or dispersing disinformation. The latter implies a third party who aids an investigation by offering helpful information, possibly for money.

Crow was not quite either of these. Though associated with Konoha (being, in fact, a shinobi of that Village), his purpose was both less underhanded and more precise than espionage. He was more of an inspector, or detective, than anything. But his status was mostly defined as 'spy', because it was the most accurate.

Konoha's spies were not known to any but the Hokage and perhaps the few active ninja with security clearance high enough to see the files. On the general records, spies are often listed as dead, retired from active duty, or on long-term missions. Not even the workers in the Intelligence Department, who received and decoded spies' messages, knew the real identities of the operatives in the field. 'Crow' was not this shinobi's real name; it was only a code name, given to make filing his messages easier and to keep his identity hidden. There was no face associated with the name Crow, no person.

The Intelligence Department knows the codename, what messages the agent sends back. That is all. They cannot contact their spies; information flows one way only. The agents know this when they are sent out. They know that they are essentially alone out in the field; yes, they know that they can send an alarm signal back to Konoha, a call for help, but that was to be used in instances of intense duress. Anything less than the most pressing disaster was no call for sending the alarm. Agents know that, more likely than not, they were expected to die for the good of their Village, and die without revealing anything they know. For Konoha to send in a rescue meant admitting the spy was theirs, and all sorts of trouble (political, military, or otherwise) could come of it. It was a risk the Village might not take, for just one life.

The danger inherent in espionage is one of the reasons why the identity of the agents is so secret. The fewer the people who know, the less likely it is to be leaked, and the less likely the agents are to be uncovered. But it made for a rather lonely life for the spies.

This didn't bother Crow. He'd lived one lifetime separate from everything he'd loved already; a couple years in service of his precious people and his Village was nothing to sacrifice. He'd go back to them, after he did this.

Crow stood in a small gully, ankle-deep in rainwater. More rain sluiced off his cloak and the cowl that covered his head. The ground around him was scarred from a battle—not a recent one, but one that had taken place months ago. The bodies, if there had been any, had long since been removed. All that remained were the gouges torn in the earth, and the charred ground.

He shifted, just enough to speak over his shoulder: "Madara. He died here, yes?"

The person who had been slowly advancing toward him paused, rethought attacking him, and recalculated. Finally, she replied: "Yes."

Crow turned fully, the shadowed cowl facing her. "You buried the body?"

"Burned it," she corrected. Her eyes were narrowed under her own hood.

There was a beat, and then Crow asked, pointedly: "Are you certain it was Uchiha Madara?"

"Yes," she replied at once. "More than certain."

"Where is Pein?"

A longer pause, and she twitched as if she wanted to attack, displeased that this stranger had known that name. But she restrained herself and replied, tightly: "Dead."

Crow's cowl shifted slightly.

"Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the strength he was known for made the battle difficult. Pein died afterwards, from overusing his Rinnegan," she elaborated.

"I see…" Crow said slowly. He didn't seem surprised to hear about the Rinnegan, which was largely regarded as a legend. The blue-haired woman's interest sharpened.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

There was no reason not to tell her; she wasn't a threat. And she would know if he lied. "Uchiha Itachi. And you are Konan. Did you observe the fight?"

Konan shifted into a battle-stance, wary. "Uchiha! Are you here to avenge Madara?"

He didn't move, and told her coolly: "I am here to make sure he is dead."

She stared at him for a while, as if trying to see through the shadow of his cowl to his face. She evidently seemed to come to some decision, whether or not she could gauge his expression, and relaxed. "I saw it, yes. I am sure it was Madara; he called himself that, and I saw his Sharingan. Pein was certain, as well."

A silence. Then, "_Pein_ died after the battle, or Nagato?"

Konan glared at him, jaw tightening. She was clearly even less pleased that he knew Pein's real name. Crow—Uchiha Itachi—tilted his head, allowing the thin daylight to filter into his deep hood and spark in crimson eyes. She looked away from the Sharingan. "Nagato _was_ Pein. Madara killed five of the Paths, and then Nagato and the final Path killed Madara. Nagato died soon after, and therefore, so did Pein."

"Why did they fight?" He was pushing her patience, he could see from the way her fists clenched. Living creatures—human or animal—tended to become angry or violent as a defense when hurt. Nagato was the last of Konan's childhood companions, her comrades, and speaking of his death hurt her.

"Madara wanted Nagato to join him. He spoke of uniting the world, and ending war. It was something he said, or the way he said it, but Nagato did not trust him. He thought that all Madara wanted was revenge on the world, power over the world. Madara's plan wouldn't end war; it would cause the largest the world had ever seen… So Nagato fought him."

"Hn," Itachi responded. "Did he mention any others who had joined him already?"

"No," she snapped. She threw a glare in his direction. "You said you wanted to be sure Madara was dead. He is. Now take your questions and leave!"

The paper flower in her hair rustled with her agitation. It was true that he had gotten what he had gone there for, so Itachi was silent, and turned and left.

As he did so, he could not help but feel relief. Madara, the Madara of this time (since Itachi himself had killed the one that had come here from the future), was dead. He was no longer a threat to this timeline. And Pein, who had been the puppet-leader of Akatsuki under Madara, was also gone. Perhaps that meant that Akatsuki would not form…

But that wasn't assured. Perhaps Madara had already started assembling the organization before dying at Pein's hands. It would be best to be thorough. He would have to make sure the _nukenin _he remembered becoming Akatsuki weren't gathering.

At least Itachi, or rather, Crow, could send a message back to Konoha confirming Madara's death. That was one worry absolved.


	4. Four

_TH: Don't know if I'll be able to post the last (next) chapter until Monday- I'm going away for the weekend and won't have my computer. But for now, here's this one. Points for anyone who can guess who Itachi's opponent was in this (it shouldn't be too hard).  
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**Ravel, Unravel

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**.IV.**

Crow staggered away from the battlefield, breathing a little heavily and clutching his arm where the flesh had been opened in three jagged rends, spilling blood down his side. Drops fell from his fingers, which were curved and lax, the arm not much responding to signals from his brain.

He would need a hospital for this wound; it was beyond his basic first-aid skills. Thankfully, his disguise was still in place—he didn't depend on a _henge _to change his appearance, but instead opted for something a touch more permanent. So his black hair had been dyed to a dark green and cropped close to his head, and vegetable dyes applied every week kept his skin dark tan. The only thing he could not disguise was his Sharingan, but he didn't reveal that unless he was sure that it would not blow his cover.

He'd survived two and a half years so far, as a lone operative. A spy, of sorts.

There was a village nearby, one he knew had a hospital. He could get treated there before continuing on with his mission.

* * *

The civilian doctor knotted the last stitch, cut the thread, and carefully wiped clean the skin. He looked at Crow and said: "There, all done. One of the nurses will bandage it for you while I write up your paperwork. I'll be back once I've finished."

Crow nodded agreeably, and thanked the doctor. The nurse applied antiseptic and gauze, and at least a yard of linen bandage. Once she was done she patted the bandage gently and told him: "There now, make sure to keep the bandage dry. And change the wrapping every day. Come back in two weeks and we'll see about taking the sutures out. The re-located shoulder will be stiff and sore for a while, but stretching it out gently every day and it should be back to normal in no time."

She left, and a few minutes later the doctor came back, inspected the bandage, proclaimed it fit, gave Crow his discharge papers (under the false name Myojin Tenshou), and a bundle of fresh bandages for changing his wound's dressings. Crow was dismissed with an amiable "Try not to get on any other scythe's bad-side!" having, of course, lied about the origin of his wound. Luckily enough, the weapon his enemy had been using had been only a slight variation on a common farming implement. With farms scattering the countryside, it was a believable lie to say he'd been clumsy during harvest.

Of course, the truth was more malicious than that. But Crow could claim the victory; his opponent was dead. Or, as dead as he could get, considering the unique abilities conferred upon those of his... 'faith.'

But dead enough to warrant another message back to Konoha, which was a good thing. Too many worrisome things had been happening… like discovering that, despite Madara and Pein being dead, Akatsuki was forming anyway. In the other-past, Madara had formed Akatsuki, with Pein as its puppet-leader, in order to accomplish certain aspects of his plan to rule the world. With Madara dead, shouldn't there not be an Akatsuki? But there was. Was it inescapable? Were there set events that had to take place for the world to be sustained? Or was it simply that the deaths of Madara and Pein had left a power-vacuum that someone new was stepping into? Perhaps it was just coincidence. Someone trying to build a powerful group of rogue ninja would aim for the best, which means S-rank _nukenin_. There weren't many of them, so if such a group were to form, the members would be the same because there were no other options. But why the name Akatsuki? Cosmic irony, or fate?

Such troubling thoughts. Whatever else he did, Crow would have to find out who was the mastermind behind the Akatsuki this time around. At least there was one less Akatsuki to deal with now.


	5. Five

_TH: Last chapter-drabble for 'Ravel, Unravel'! Thanks to all you who read and reviewed and faved and etc. Really appreciate it. Hopefully this will whet all y'all's appetites for 'Shades'. Heh heh. It's going to be very much a different world when next we see everyone...  
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**Ravel, Unravel

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**.V.

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It was what he'd been fighting to prevent, what he'd given up years of his life—given up his _life_, once—to guard against. And still it hadn't been enough.

He should have seen this coming; all the warning signs were there. But he had been so busy guarding from threats _outside _the Village that he hadn't considered the inside.

Perhaps fate truly did have it in for him.

That didn't matter. Indulging in self-pity was a foolish thing to do, and he was no fool. He was a shinobi of Konoha… the _real _Konoha, not whatever bastardization had taken its place. He had the Will of Fire, along with many of his comrades.

His comrades. They were still in Konoha, under the new, militant Hokage. The Hokage's whose vision of Konoha was not the same as the previous leaders'. A Hokage who didn't have the Will of Fire, but instead something more like the Will of Steel. Stubborn, unrelenting… and weaponized.

They wouldn't be able to bow under that rule; to do so would be a betrayal of themselves and their ideals, _their _Konoha. They would fight and die, or flee. Perhaps some of the more grounded—those with families who couldn't flee, or those with obligations they couldn't abandon—would remain, quietly biding their time.

Crow knew the protocol for this sort of situation. Spies outside of Konoha acted largely on their own volition, making their own decisions based on what they knew. They couldn't receive orders from Konoha, of course, so they relied on their own judgment. In situations where Konoha itself was in danger, directly, spies abroad had to make a judgment call on whether they should abort their current mission or not.

For Crow, it was an easy decision to make. The success of his current mission would not help Konoha if the Village didn't exist anymore. What he needed to do was ensure that Konoha endured, in the form in which it was meant to endure.

He needed to find the loyal Konoha ninja who have fled the new military regime that had taken hold of the Village, and join up with them. They would be the force that would sustain the real Konoha—its ideals and principles. They would also be the force that took back the village proper from hands that now clutched it.

But they would need a leader. Crow's network of information told him that the chosen candidate for the Godaime Hokage's seat had been Senju Tsunade. His network also told him that the current 'Hokage' claimed that the offer had been made, but that Tsunade had declined it.

Considering who, exactly, was making the claim, Crow was suspicious of its validity. Which also made him wonder if Tsunade was alive or dead. After all, the easiest way to avoid getting caught in a lie would be to eliminate those who could disprove you.

She would be a good choice for Hokage. She had, in fact, _been _the Godaime Hokage, in his other-past. If she could be persuaded… if she led the exiled Leaf-nin… then perhaps they might have a chance.

Crow's informants had Tsunade in Tachikawa, a small town in Kusa, about three weeks ago. He'd start his search there. All else would follow.


End file.
